Emergency situations on campus are a major concern at elementary, middle, or high schools, as well as on the college campus, and extending into life away from campus at malls, theaters, or even the office. When a dangerous situation erupts, it is often the case that the personnel involved are not always certain how to respond, whether they be teachers, children, office workers, or mall security. Further, there are different responses for different situations. However, it is often the case during emergency that while people are aware that a dangerous situation exists they may have no way to know what that situation is. Further if they are unaware that a threatening or dangerous situation is present they may inadvertently end up in the middle of the threat when simple awareness could have prevented such an occurrence.
Many schools, for example, have emergency procedures in place to provide for lockdown and other security measures in an attempt to minimize injury or worse. Even in those situations like the recent shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut, where emergency procedures were in place, the principal of the school was one of the early casualties, which prevented the procedures from being fully implemented and followed.
In the event of an emergency or other serious situation, a school staff member should be able to quickly and efficiently convey an alert as soon as possible. If an incident that requires alert is observed in a hallway, cafeteria, gym, or playground, the observer often must scream or quickly get to an office to alert others of the danger, for example. Current methods of declaring a “Code Red” situation are lacking in that many situations can get much worse very quickly before an alert to the situation is communicated.
Emergency procedures that are heavily dependent on a single point of control, a reduced number of authority figures, or limited access to the communication channels leave a gap in the ability to protect or warn others of impending dangers. Improved communication and coordination is one way to minimize risk during threatening, dangerous, and/or deadly situations that arise.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.